In the making of orthopedic appliances such as custom orthotics, custom shoes and custom sandals, all referred to herein as “corrective orthotics,” to aid in the correction or prevention of malformations of the feet, it is necessary to first obtain an image of the foot. Measurements are then taken of the image for the purpose of duplicating the contours of the foot. For accuracy, the foot image must be taken while the foot is positioned in a normal condition. Prior art conventional practice, which remained unchanged for years, was to make a depression with the foot. Plaster of Paris is then poured into the negative depression, producing a duplicate mold or cast of the bottom of the foot. From the molded form, which provides an exact duplication of the contours of the foot, an orthopedic device such as an arch support or an entire shoe is made. One material used for making the negative image is foam that is in a box. The patient steps into the foam to make an impression of the foot.
Those methods of producing an image of a foot required a significant amount of material and equipment in terms of volume and mass. Additionally, the casts produced were voluminous, requiring significant storage space. Transfer of the casts to another location requires significant effort and expense as well.
These previous methods of producing an image of a foot have been replaced in recent years by flat bed scanners generally of the type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,237,520 to White and U.S. Pat. No. 6,141,889 to Baum, for acquiring measurements and data necessary for producing orthotics and corrective shoes and sandals using electronic data that can easily be stored and transferred over common communication pathways.
Many prior art scanners require the patient to stand, at least with one foot, on the scanner and the scanner picks up the pressure points of the foot in multiple colors. Recently static scanners have been used instead. These static scanners, are not used with the patient standing on the scanner, but instead require the patient to move to a position wherein the patient's foot can be placed on the scanner without significant pressure of the foot against the scanner. In these static scanners it is often difficult to for the patient to move to the required stationary position for obtaining a scan of their feet.
Unlike the prior art scanners, as mentioned above, that estimate 3D geometry by analyzing the color of a foot and, by extension pressure, the scanner of the instant invention directly collects 3D geometry. Both types of systems can be used to build an orthotic, but their operating principles are very different. There are prior art systems that use any of multiple measurement methods. Accordingly, it may be helpful to define terms used in the various methodologies that can be used as follows:
“Pressure” is defined as a system that measures the pressure of the foot and extrapolates shape and load from that data. By design, requires a weight-bearing ‘scan’.
“2D” is defined as a system that takes an image (black-and-white or color) of the foot, either while weight bearing, or non-weight bearing. That data is used to determine the outline of the foot. Also, colorization of the skin as it compresses against the window is used to approximate pressure and or height of the foot.
“3D” is defined as a system that takes 3-dimensional measurements of the foot, either weight bearing or non-weight bearing. These systems may or may not include an additional 2D measurement in black-and-white or color). These systems typically use a laser or multiple cameras (stereo) to determine height measurements to create a 3D model.
Accordingly there is a need for a static scanner mounting device which permits the scanner to be adjusted to and then temporarily held in a desired position to adapt to a comfortable position for the patient to obtain a scan of the patient's foot.